Leading Edge R&D:

HARVESTING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH EXTREME IT

The Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are working together to pioneer radical ways of harvesting important and ground-breaking knowledge from existing -- but largely unexploited -- data. This project, called eDIKT, is expected to have far-reaching benefits, not only for the economic infrastructure of Scotland, but also worldwide. It has been made possible by a £2.3 million grant from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.

eDIKT (e-Data, Information and Knowledge Transformation) will construct novel data management and interpretation software tools. These tools will underpin the seamless linking, management and interpretation of the vast amounts of data available on global networks. This will enable scientists to harvest the knowledge hidden in the acres of data with which leading researchers work.

Dr Arthur Trew, Director of EPCC (Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre) at the University of Edinburgh, explained: "Bigger datasets allow us to see a more complete picture, but extracting knowledge from them is like finding a needle in a haystack -- and sometimes we don't actually know what the needle looks like! eDIKT will develop tools -- based on state-of-the-art computer science research -- that will integrate and search these enormous datasets.

"This is called e-Science: an emerging research technique enabled by extreme IT. It uses the largest computers and needs vast, globally-distributed datasets. eDIKT will work in tandem with the new National e-Science Centre to ensure that Scotland is at the forefront of this globally-important science."

eDIKT will initially investigate the use of database techniques in astronomy, bioinformatics, particle physics and in creating virtual global organizations.

Working over time with a wider range of scientific areas, it is anticipated that eDIKT will develop spin-off technologies that may have commercial applications in Scotland and beyond in areas such as drug discovery, financial analysis and agricultural development. For this reason, a key component of the eDIKT team will be a dedicated commercialization manager who will push out the benefits of eDIKT to industry.

Roger McClure, chief executive of SHEFC, said: "This is an outstanding example of how strategic development funding by SHEFC can enable and support the founding of a centre of excellence.

"The eDIKT project builds on the successful collaboration of the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow which has already attracted £5.5 million of Research Council funding to host the UK's National e-Science Centre."

Sir Graeme Davies, Principal of the University of Glasgow, commented: "The substantial support for eDIKT which has been announced by SHEFC is both welcome and extremely encouraging. It will enable world class computing scientists working in Scotland to advance the frontiers of their subject while at the same time enhancing the economic infrastructure of the country. The University of Glasgow is pleased to be playing a major role in eDIKT and in the parallel development of the UK's National e-Science Centre, both of which acknowledge and increase Scotland's international strength in the field."

Lord Sutherland of Houndwood, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, added: "Our aim is to place Scotland at the leading edge of e-Science and to develop the technologies that support it by linking the Scottish research base to that in the US. This project is a key element in achieving our goal and further strengthens the close collaboration between the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh."

Contact EPCC, Tracy Peet, 0131 650 5030, t.peet@epcc.ed.ac.uk.